Kinda just popped back on this site. No shows this year cause cash is a bit tight But have some really awesome job prospects coming up:) So if the boys do next year should have an awesome tour (might even take the kids, sense they are becoming little quite the little phans). Reason I'm posting is no one here in my area, S.E. MI plays cool stuff. Sometimes it's neat, like when I go into the local G.S. and folks think I'm playing original stuff. But mostly I'm surrounded by 4 Steve Vias and a Zack Wylde lol. But I would love to know if anyone in the area would like to get together and jam for a night? Nothing serious. I just been off the green and need an outlet (^ job prospects) I will travel like 50 miles if needed. I seriously cant find anyone around here that wants to play the jam/funk stuff I like. Plus, I'm not a session quality guitarist. I just do it for the escape and hobby. But if anyone is interested or knows anyone, I would love to hear from them. Thx everyone.

P.S. having read my previous posts I have since picked up an Epi 339 electric and a little 15w Orange amp (the amps my daughter's, but she said I can use it:))

Anyone ever heard of Heritage Guitar Company? Heritage runs out of the old Gibson shop in Kalamazoo, and is still making high quality, small batch guitars after Gibson moved to Tennessee in 1974. Anyway, my friend's dad let me borrow his Heritage a few weeks ago and it's just beautiful. Crisp, quality tones and soaring bends. I love it. This guitar is very similar to a Les Paul, I'm not sure the model.

Anyone have a Les Paul? Are they extremely heavy? Because this guitar is pretty heavy. Not like it's killing by back, but my strat style guitar feels like a baby in comparison.

My buddy used to have a nice Les Paul, yeah heavy as hell! I loved playing it, but was glad it wasn't mine, lol.

I need a way to improve my rig on the cheap. Not sure what to focus on first. Probably need new tuners - I notice that on older Phish shows, Trey's way more likely to go out of tune. I wonder if he upgraded his tuners in the early 90s, cuz he's rarely been out of tune since then..

Then, I've just got two single coil pickups, and I suspect an upgrade to those would do wonders.

Lastly, I'm using a Fender solid state that has no ground prong on the plug. I wonder if I should just get that repaired, or ditch the amp for something better.

And even MORE lastly, I have a shameful pedal arsenal. But I want to get the electric rig to the stage more.

meh pedals shmedals, a good craftsman never blames his tools right? Although I would like a looper and a Space Echo! I use a tube screamer and my crybaby, but sometimes just the tube screamer. What I really need is a new electric guitar. I might buy that Heritage that I mentioned above ^, if the man is selling it to me. I think I want a Les Paul style guitar, but I really am attached to the bite of the Fender style neck. Also looking at a semi-hollow body PRS, so ya know, I can totally copy Trey.

Can we talk about Trey's rig/tone/guitar for a second. That set-up, when hes got 2 tube screamers going through his compressor, must be unforgiving. Like, so much gain you can hear every mistake. Such feedback. I don't know how I'd handle that. Whenever I listen to Slayer I hear Trey's tone there. Trey actually plays so heavy but I don't always notice it cause he's not doin chugga chugga metal stuff but that's his tone.

Ooooh baby. That's a lot of reverb right there. I don't know where I'd put all that reverb. What kind of amplification do you use? I have spring reverb on my blues jr deluxe, but it would be nice to have a pedal with some variation and intricacy to the sound. Can you also get some nice echo out of that pedal? Would love to hear some results when you're figure that thing out.

So I just bought Les Paul, and I put a 56 on the low E and a 16 as the high E. Really thick and meaty. Will post a pic soon.

What kind of picks to do y'all use? I'm a fan of things 2.0mm or thicker, usually. So I use the Dunlop Jazz 3's. I used to use the rounded end often, but when I started playing more bluegrass and Django stuff I went back to the pointy end of the pick. I also started using the 'standard size' 2mm Tortex ones because I needed more projection, power, and attack. Damn fiddle, so loud!

I heard Jerry and Trey use the 2mm Adamas graphite picks. I'm thinking about getting some. They aren't extremely expensive, but I'm so cheap and they aren't a necessity.

I don't fingerpick, and I don't use thin picks except for a bit of novelty on a rare occasion, when I want to strum softly.

I use a Jim Dunlop 1mm... I could see myself going w/ somethin heavier though. Fingerpicking I bare finger it. Hearing other people use picks it sounds clumsy to me ... I just turn the guitar up for those tunes.

I'm trying to mic my acoustic for the purpose of gigs and parties. I play a 1952 Gibson LG-1, so that thing does not have a pickup in it. Secondly, I'd rather mic my guitar than use a pickup. So, what are some affordable but quality and durable mics? I'm looking at you ICC, hosemasterflex, and marley!

I don't like the idea of having the x factor of proximity-to-mic during a gig. I would want it mounted to the soundhole on a tiny gooseneck or something, you know? .. to keep its position consistent. But I suppose if you're gonna mic' it from a bit of a distance w something fancy like Glenn says, then that's a different story of wax ball.

^ I haven't made a purchase yet (because I cant get this fucking band together) but I think I'm going to buy the PG81 when the time comes. Checked it out in the store and dug it.

Other thoughts...For as much Trey as I listen to, it doesn't come out very obviously in the form of rhythms, licks, or note choices. Of course I'm nowhere near his level of skill. My approach to soloing definitely comes a lot from him though. On the other hand, one of my friends listens to a lot of Trey and sounds a lot like him on the surface level with rhythms and licks that are pure Trey. As for specific licks on the ol' electric guitar, the ones I've stolen I've mostly copped from Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman.

I got a Digitech Whammy for Christmas, and have since discovered that Trey loves to use it to bend down a 2nd. That's that whale call stuff. Also sounds like a slide guitar if you try to do that. And it's what Trey uses in '97 funk jams, when he gets really quiet and sounds kind of like a piccolo. Maybe you knew this all already but it's been fun doing all that.

So far my favorite thing to do with it is set it to bend up an octave and kind of freak out with it, playing what i normally play but bending all over the place and it sounds like you're a computer gone crazy.

I've barely played with the harmonize settings but that will come soon. Anyone got any whammy tricks?

My acoustic guitar comes back from the shop today! It's almost been two weeks without it. Yeah I have an electric guitar but sitting in the deck in the sun drinking tea and playing your eLeCtRIC guitar is not the same experience. My acoustic chops are gonna be in disarray (shittier than usual) cause of all that electric faux-shredurbation.

I kind of have the opposite problem, where I have gravitated to the acoustic because of gigging, and at this point I play a more badass solo on the acoustic than I do on the electric. It's down to feeling comfy and getting what you expect out of the sound, and I'm just so distracted by trying to manage an electric again that it's been a slow process, reworking that into my live work. I pick up the acoustic again and I'm like, let's go to TOWN.

I can't think directly at guitar playing right now. I want to, but adult life has finally eaten in. Also disc golfing has taken a toll.

I often hope I will someday establish better practice disciplines, because I know I could be pretty good. I'm already relatively good with a dash of suck, but so much more could be done for my abilities, equipment, career, overall satisfaction.